Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

"It's time we framed every question -- every issue -- not in terms of what's in it for 'me,' but what's in it for all of us?"-- John Kerry, 2005-09-19

Last night/this morning, as I was too close to finally crashing to write it down: "Perrine, sweetie, the sleeping bag I'm using as a comforter has been drifting gradually sideways, and as you're already kind of near the edge of the mattress I fear you'll slide right off soon. And I'd like to shift it back anyhow so it doesn't slide off of me while I sleep. So I'm going to -- no, don't get up -- I'm going to slide it back into place with you lying on it so that you won't fall off the bed, okay? No, I'm not doing this so I can put my feet in the spot you've warmed by lying on it for the past couple of hours. Really. That's just a lucky-for-me side effect, I swear. ... But I'm certainly going to notice and enjoy that side effect. There, it's done, go back to sleep and I'll be careful not to kick you during the night."

And the less-cute shape of my morning: *grumble* Waking up roughly every half hour does not make for a restful night, especially after taking until nearly dawn to manage to fall asleep in the first place. Not falling asleep until so late may have been just random insomnia that I experience, or could have been from the caffeine in the pain meds -- caffeine makes me feel sleepy but frustratingly keeps me from actually falling asleep. Waking up so many times was probably due to the last dose of Ultram wearing off (this is why I want that (expensive and unfortunately not covered by the state's medical assistance plan) extended-release Ultram) or possibly just not having been strong enough in the first place -- the last dose of TC&C I took yesterday was much earlier and had already stopped helping with the pain when I went to bed, but the annoying effects of the caffeine last much longer than the pain-relieving components.

No, I do not think it was psychic or karmic payback for stealing the warm spot from the cat, wise-ass. [I know at least one of you will have been thinking it.] That's one of the things cat's are for, isn't it? Pbbbbt! :-P

(Hey, if I can't train her to turn her kneading behaviour into proper masssage[1] ...)

Let's see what portion of my plans for the day I'll still manage to do and emjoy. I already needed to juggle the schedule around a little due to the timing of out-of-town friends passing through, but I'd really rather not put off the already twice postponed outing with a local friend for yet another week, an outing I've been looking forward to for a while now. Though maybe I'd better suggest we choose all the less-strenuous options for the day.

[1] Every so often she manages to hit a spot on my ribs or thigh that really needs kneading, but she never stays in the right place long enough to do much good, just enough for me to notice what she could do.[2] And I can't get her to work on my shoulders or back. Of course, there's also the problem of her apparently-competing-in-a-nail-growth-rate-competition claws, which always need trimming awfully soon after having been clipped. She's so very good with her claws the rest of the time that when she first showed up I wondered whether she'd been declawed, but she seems to completely lose track of them when she kneads, and -- yowch! -- those things are sharp.

[2] Hmm. If I could teach her to do massage, would I be allowed to take her into no-pets places as a medical assistance animal? (Okay, not as impressive or as crucial as a seeing eye dog or a seizure-early-warning animal -- they use more than just dogs for that, right? -- but she'd still be assisting me with a chronic medical condition.)